1700 startups register for Karnataka govt's Elevate initiative

Of the responses received, 350 startups are run by women entrepreneurs. There are also entries from about 400 startups located in rural areas, Priyank Kharge said.ET Bureau | Updated: July 27, 2017, 09:37 IST

As many as 1397 startups from Bengaluru have responded to Karnataka Government’s ambitious initiative to identify 100 most promising startups under its Elevate-100 programme.

The two-week window period, open until July 21, saw about 1700 registrations. Hubli makes up for 109 entries, while other cities and towns have contributed less than 100 each. The 100 startups will receive end-to-end support from the government, including funds to scale to higher levels, Karnataka’s IT & BT Minister Priyank Kharge told ET.

They will now pitch their ideas at the jury meets, called pitch-to-Elevate, in Mysuru, Mangalore, Hubli, Karburgi and Bengaluru over a 11-day period ending August 8, where startups will make their presentations.

The jury will shortlist 200 startups from across Karnataka. The jury members, in the presence of teams from the shortlisted startups, will make the final presentation before the grand jury which will meet in Bengaluru on August 29 and August 30, the IT Minister said.

Of the responses received, 350 startups are run by women entrepreneurs. There are also entries from about 400 startups located in rural areas, Kharge said.

In a sign of animation and gaming picking up in Karnataka, about 50 startups from the sector have also sent their entries. The government, the Minister said, is pushing for original IP in content creation, and nudging the startups to look beyond services and move into the realm of product development.

Elevate is the first of its kind programme in India, Kharge said, while clarifying that the government is not going to abandon other startups. “Not all startups could be looking for funds, but would need support in areas such as idea validation, mentorship, incubation facilities, accounting, and legal. We will provide technical and business support based on their need,” Kharge said.

The short-listed startups will have access to as much as Rs 400 crore of government funds which different departments have made available for devising technology solutions to problems and challenges in their respective sectors.

“Elevate-100 will empower startups to scale operations and achieve growth,” said C.M.Patil, CEO at Sandbox Startups of Deshpande Foundation, which has partnered with the government along with The Indus Entrepreneurs for the programme.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who launched the registrations on July 4, said: “Bengaluru has the most suitable environment for startups with innovative ideas. We will ultimately look for great ideas that use technology to solve bigger problems in our society."